The Weasley Way
by Remus-is-a-chocoholic
Summary: The final Battle took place in fourth year and Molly and Arthur lost their lives. It is now up to Bill to look after the brood. Can he be the parent that the others so desperately need or will he crumble under the pressure?
1. Chapter 1

**The Weasley Way**

**Summary: Harry fought Voldemort in his fourth year, there was a large battle and Molly and Arthur lost their lives. Sirius is alive and so Harry is living with his godfather and Remus, whilst Bill has overtaken the role as head of the Weasley Family. This story is about the Weasley children coping without Molly and Arthur and about Bill trying to become a parent to the other children. Charlie and Percy will also play key leadership roles.**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it belongs to JK Rowling._

Chapter 1-Unfair

The wind howled sorrowfully in Ottery St Catchpole, a sound of mourning and pain that would chill you to the bone. The trees shook gently, as if shaking their heads sadly at the day's events and rain was trickling steadily from ahead, as if the clouds themselves were weeping in despair. The burrow, once so homely and inviting, was now cold and bare. There was no roaring fire in the hearth, no godly smells drafting in from the kitchen. There were no chattering voices or the sound of footsteps on the many stairs. No, all was quiet. Bill Weasley stared down at the photograph in his hand, it was stained with tears but he hadn't the heart to wipe them away. This was the last photo of them all, the last time they would ever be captured as a family. It was over. He was 24 for Merlin's sake, hardly capable of caring for himself never mind six other children. Charlie wouldn't be too bad, at least he would be coming over to help, but what about the twins and Ron and Ginny; they were still in Hogwarts. He sighed, so this was how it was going to be from now on? He couldn't give up, couldn't let them go into care. No, as long as he was still breathing the others would have a home. He didn't know how to be a parent, but it couldn't be too hard could it? People did it all the time. There was a creak and he heard footsteps by the front door. His eyes took on a look of fierce determination as he hauled himself to his feet. He could do this.

-XXX-

The funeral was a week later, in the beautiful cemetery in Godricks Hollow. Many people arrived as the Weasley parents had had many friends. Dumbledore spoke of their bravery and undeniable love, he spoke of how they had fought and died together for their family. Then Harry stood up, he told of the sorrow he felt knowing that two wonderful people had fallen, he told of the love they had showed him and the family they had welcomed him into. It soon became too much for the boy and Sirius had had to get up and help take Harry away. Bill couldn't deny the jealously he felt at that small action, he longed to have his father's arms around his shoulders or his mother kissing his cheek in the way that Sirius had done to his godson. It could never happen again though, for Molly and Arthur were gone and the warm hugs and motherly kisses were gone with them. Bill was the last to speak, he didn't look at the coffins as he spoke, knowing that a breakdown was unavoidable if he did. He spoke of what wonderful parents they had been and the love they had shown every day. The speech lasted for the best part of twenty minutes and even then he didn't think he had done them justice. No amount of words ever could. Ginny snuggled into his side as they sat together on the front bench, she was sobbing freely and he couldn't help but feel angry, angry that his beautiful baby sister should have to be orphaned at 13. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

-XXX-

The house was quiet that night, Charlie had returned from Romania earlier for the funeral and so they were all together again. Yet, he had never felt so alone. Ginny hadn't ceased her crying, sh had barricaded herself in her room and not allowed anyone access, not that they had tried much. Fred and George were lost, they didn't speak and were no longer their carefree selves. Ron was naught more than a hollow shell, he moved mechanically and without thought. Percy was just as bad as Ginny, no one had seen him since the funerals end. Charlie was the only one who had managed to hold it together and even he wasn't doing too well. The two oldest Weasley brothers sat together on the floral sofa in the sitting room. They stared into the dying fire but neither moved to rekindle it. "How did you manage to get them to allow you to look after the others?" Charlie asked, finally destroying the mounting silence.

Bill sighed "it wasn't easy, but I had help from the goblins and Dumbledore was behind me, so the jury eventually had to see it my way." The younger man nodded. "What about your job Charlie?" Bill finally asked "when are you going back to it?"

Charlie merely shook his head in defeat "I'm not" he told his brother sadly "I'm staying here with you and the others, I thought about going back, but I can't do it." Bill nodded, he didn't understand but he didn't really need to, Charlie was old enough to make his own decisions. "I'm going to bed" Charlie announced finally "will you be alright?"

Bill looked up with an eyebrow raised "I'm 24 years old Charlie, what do you think?"

The younger man smiled a little and nodded "aright then, I'll see you in the morning"

Bill nodded and Charlie took his leave, when the younger brother was out of earshot Bill sighed and whispered in a small, pathetic voice "no Charlie. I'm not alright. Please don't leave."

A/N: alright, so…what does everybody think? This was just a short Prologue to get you thinking. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**The Weasley Way**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it belongs to JK Rowling._

Chapter 2-Mourning

Bill Weasley awoke to a rather uncomfortable pain in his back and the persistent sun shining down on his through the window. He groaned when he noticed that he'd spent the night on the sofa, no wonder his back felt so rough. There was a heavenly smell wafting in from the kitchen and-just for a moment- Bill smiled at the thought of his mother's wonderful cooking. Then he remembered, there would be no more of Molly's breakfast and so, with a sigh, he decided to rise and investigate the source of the smell. Charlie was in the kitchen, slaving away over the stove in order to make enough food for the seven of them. He turned and gave Bill a brief nod before raising an eyebrow and sighing "you shouldn't sleep on the sofa Bill, it won't do you any good" the oldest Weasley child snorted at his brothers motherly tone, but nodded anyway before making his way out into the hall. There was a small sniffling coming from the stairs and he decided that it as best to check up on whichever child was crying.

It was Ginny, she was hunched over on the second step with her hair in her face as she sobbed quietly "Gin?" he enquired softly and she looked up in confusion.

"Oh, hi Bill" her voice was dull and lifeless as she wiped at her eyes. He smiled softly and dropped down beside her, his strong arm weaved gently around her shoulders in a comforting way and she leaned her head against his side. "Does it make me a bad person Bill?" she asked quietly "to be jealous of Harry. He's just gotten everything he ever wanted; a family and we've lost it."

He sighed and rubbed small, soothing circles on her back. "No Ginny. It doesn't make you a bad person. Harry hasn't had a family for a long time, so I'm happy that he's found one, but I understand how you feel Gin. It isn't fair" she nodded and snuggled closer to him. "Ginny?" he asked after a moment of silence. She nodded "just because mum and dad aren't here, doesn't mean that we aren't a family. We are a family Gin and we always will be." She nodded and he smiled a little "come on, Charlie's making breakfast.

-XXX-

Once the table had been set and the food dished up, it was only Ginny, Charlie and Bill present. They waited for a while, expecting the others to drift in but they never did. Eventually, Bill jumped up and marched up the stairs, he stopped first at Percy's room and opened the door to find the redhead buried under a mass of blankets. "Come on Perce" he called softly "I know you're still upset-we all are, but that doesn't mean you can go into hibernation and miss meals" Percy's head rose and he studied his older brother with narrow, sleep-clouded eyes for a brief moment, before giving a brief nod and sluggishly rising from the bed. He then shuffled from the room and down the stairs in the direction of the kitchen. Bill sighed and made his way to Fred and George's room.

Unlike Percy, the twins weren't asleep. They were sat in the centre of the room, staring into nothingness. Bill knocked gently on the door frame and George-unmistakeable because of the missing ear-looked up. "Bill?" he asked quietly and the man nodded slightly.

"Come on boys, it's time for breakfast."

"We're not hungry" they announced at once ad Bill sighed softly.

"I know that you're upset, but you can't hide yourself away. You need food and you're going to get it if I have to carry you down there myself" The twins looked ready to argue for a moment, but it didn't last long. Fred reached over and took George's hand and they walked slowly down to the kitchen together. Bill sighed, three down and just one more to go.

Ron wasn't asleep when Bill swung the door open, he was cuddled up on the window seat, sobbing softly into a pillow. "Ron?" he called but the boy did not look up. He moved forwards and perched lightly beside Ron's shaking form, he reached out a hand and gently began to rub soothing circles on the boys back. "It's alright Ron. Everything is going to be alright" the boy didn't seem to believe this, for his tears did not cease. "Ron. Ron look at me for a second" finally, Ron looked up from the pillow and into the sad blue eyes of his older brother.

"They're gone Bill" he croaked out miserably "gone forever, they can't come back. Dad's never going to talk to us about the wonders of muggles and mum's never going to stuff us with food until we can't walk. They're gone." His voice was so helpless and weak that Bill couldn't help but draw him into the warm, protective circle of his strong arms.

"I know Ron" he whispered gently as the boy sobbed into his shirt "but I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. It'll all be alright Ron, everything's going to be ok" truth be told, Bill felt rather guilty. He had spent the past week worrying over Ginny, as she was the youngest, but he had completely forgotten about Ron. Forgotten that his brother was only 14 and far too young to be without parents.

The boy looked up sadly and Bill smiled gently "you won't ever leave us, will you Bill?" the words were so innocently spoken, they made Ron seem so fragile and breakable.

"Of course I won't, you nutter. You're not getting rid of me that easily." Ron smiled lightly and snuggled deeper into Bill's protective hold. "Hey Ron, why don't we do something today, just the two of us. We'll play chess and you can show me how you got so good because we all know that you're by far the best." Ron looked up briefly and smiled gently as Bill wiped the tears from his brother's face.

"I'd like that" he whispered and Bill smiled.

"Come on. Charlie's made breakfast and there'll be none left if we don't get down there soon." Ron nodded and the two brothers descended the stairs together.

-XXX-

Breakfast was a quiet event, there was no chatter or even quiet chatting, about half way through, Bill had had enough. "Alright kids" he spoke up "I know you're upset, we all are, Charlie and I included, but mum and dad wouldn't have wanted us to give up and stop living. No, we have to carry on. I'm not asking you to forget about them or to get back to normal straight away, it will never quite be the same without them, but we can't just mourn and forget to live." He sat back down with a small sigh and Charlie rose.

"Bill's right-incredibly cheesy-but right" there were even a few smiles at Charlie's words "we need to try and carry on just like they'd have wanted us to." he gave each sibling a small, soft smile before nodding and dropping back down into his chair. The room remained silent for a few minutes, until tiny snippets of meaningless conversation began to fill the air. Bill and Charlie exchanged a look of hope, maybe everything would be ok after all.

-XXX-

Later on that day, found Bill and Ron sitting opposite each other with a wizarding chess board on the table between them. Charlie was making tea with Ginny, the twins were chatting quietly in the corner and Percy was fully absorbed in his book. It could almost pass for a normal day in the burrow. Almost. "Knight to E9" Ron called triumphantly and Bill watched in shock as his younger brother won yet another game.

"How did you…I mean, I taught you…but you just….three games you…" the older Weasley stuttered whilst the younger boy looked on with a happy smirk.

"Face it Bill" he said happily "you've lost your touch" the older boy nodded and began packing the chess things away.

"Come on, Tea will be ready soon." Ron nodded and set off towards the kitchen. Bill watched with a small smile as the others filtered in. they would be ok, he just knew it.

**A/N: Sorry that the chapters aren't very long, they will start getting longer later on. Thanks to Abbl2 and Desartratt for being the first people to review. Don't forget to comment!**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Weasley Way**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it belongs to JK Rowling._

Chapter 3-Moving on

It had been three weeks since the funeral and things were already beginning to return to a state of normalcy in the Burrow. Ginny had stopped sobbing late at night and Bill no longer had to check on Ron at all hours of the day. It seemed that all the children had listened to their brother's words and no longer dragged themselves painfully through the day. The twins had somewhat resumed their chipper personalities and even Percy was acting less sullen.

For Charlie and Bill, life wasn't getting any easier, with the return of normalcy also came the return of fiery teenage attitudes and fierce tempers, not to mention the long list of unspoken taboo subjects. Harry didn't visit much anymore, Remus said it was because he blamed himself for what had happened to Arthur and Molly. He had dropped by a few times and stayed for tea, but the tension had been thick and he had left not long after.

However, the biggest change was with Hogwarts. So much had happened over the past year that the children were occasionally refusing to stay overnight in fear of being separated from their parents. It had taken a lot of thought from Professor Dumbledore, but he had eventually decided to make the school a day school until a state of unfaltering calm returned. There were still death eaters on the loose after all and those who had felt loss were not eager to relive it. Eight fireplaces were placed in the great hall, one for girls and one for boys of each house, the children would floo to school in the morning and then back home in the evening. It was odd to get used to at first, but after a month of flooing to school every day, the Weasley's soon grew accustomed to it.

-XXX-

Bill sat at the table and sighed, rain was drumming against the glass windows and the dark sky was occasionally alight with a bolt of lightning. It was whilst staring through the darkness that the oldest Weasley child spotted a small, brown owl sailing towards the tall house. He was on his feet immediately, throwing open the window for the poor creature to fly into the warmth. It had a soggy letter clutched in its beak and Bill gently traded it for a rather large handful of owl treats. He slid the letter from its envelope and did his best to decipher the smudged ink.

_Dear Mr Weasley,_

_I regret to inform you of some troubling news concerning your brother George. George has only been in his sixth year for a month and already he is failing many of his classes. The young Mr Weasley has been predicted at least an A in every class that he has taken. However, he is currently receiving a P in Transfiguration and Charms, a D in DADA and Herbology and a T in Potions and Care of Magical Creatures. As you can probably agree, this is not acceptable and must be rectified immediately. Therefore, we require you to attend a meeting at 6:00pm tomorrow._

_Yours sincerely- Minerva McGonagall._

Bill groaned and folded the letter before placing back into its envelope and sliding it into the centre of the table. Fred and George didn't seem to be the ones he'd need to worry about, they were older than Ron and Ginny and he had presumed that they were coping with the changes well enough to engage at school. Clearly he had been wrong. With a sigh the eldest Weasley ran his hands through his long red hair and rose to start making tea for when everybody flooed home. Charlie had had a job interview that morning, nothing special, just a secretary in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. It was a far cry from being a dragon trainer, but it would help to pay the bills. After all, things didn't start being free just because they were on their own now. Bill had always wondered why their parents struggled so hard for money, their dad had a good job in the Ministry of Magic and they should have been able to pay the bills easily. It was only when he took over the care of himself and another six people that Bill found out why money had always been such an issue growing up. Of course, when Bill went back to work with the auror unit there shouldn't be too much of a problem money-wise, but he was on leave at the moment after what had happened with his parents and they were currently living off of government fees and 'secret' loans from Sirius that they pretended they didn't know about.

The fire roared to life and Charlie Weasley fell out of it with a cry. "I hate Floo travel' he murmured to himself before turning his attention to Bill 'cooking are we?' Bill chuckled and nodded, he gestured to the seats littered around the table and inquired as to the interview. 'Oh, it was ok. I won't know anything until tomorrow, they said they would send an owl. I think they were impressed with the dragon training, shows I know a lot about dangerous animals. Not that I'd need that to be a secretary.'

Bill chuckled and with a flick of his wand the pasta was cooking all by itself. He moved to sit beside Charlie before sliding the envelope containing the letter over to his younger brother. 'This came today, it's about George.' Charlie winced and read through the letter quickly. He sighed after and dropped it back down onto the mahogany table. With his face scrunched in stress the younger brother rose to his feet and began to pace.

'I can't do this Bill' he said helplessly 'we're parents. Do you get that? Mum and dad are gone and now we're the parents. They expect us to do parent stuff and I can't. I don't know how to be dad and I definitely don't know how to be mum! Why did they get stuck with us?! It's not fair! None of its fair!' Charlie was pacing frantically now, his hands combing back and forth through his short hair as Bill watched on helplessly. So rarely had the eldest brother seen his younger sibling loose him cool, calm focus like this. Charlie was the calm one, the adventurous one, the one who liked a challenge. It wasn't like him to melt down at the base of such a small thing.

"Charlie. It's going to be ok." He said, trying desperately to reassure the younger man "you don't need to worry, it's all going to be ok. We have each other, I can help. We don't have to be mum and dad, we just have to do the best we can. That's all that matters." Bill rose to his feet and placed a hand on Charlie's shoulder so that he could guide the younger boy to his seat. "Try not to worry Charlie, I know everything's changed and it's scary right now, but we'll get used to it. I promise." Charlie smiled and wrapped his arms around his older brother in a display of affection that was uncharacteristic of the younger man.

The sound of the floo roaring to life again drew the brothers out of their hug as they watched the four siblings that still had lessons at Hogwarts tumble out of the fire in a mass of ginger hair and black robes. "Ow! Fred! You stood on my foot!" Ginny shouted, only to have her comment followed by the expected exchange as the twins debated who was Fred and who was George. The small crowd bustled into the kitchen and made their way to the table as was custom in The Burrow. Bill raised an eyebrow at Charlie before winking and moving away to dish up the food.

Later on that evening, when everyone was full and the excited chatter of school events had died into meaningless teasing, Bill decided to send the kids off so he could chat with George. "Alright then" he called, his voice carrying easily over the bickering "Put some pasta in the pantry for Percy and then get upstairs. George, I need you to stick around for a bit." Fred looked a bit shocked at first to be dismissed without his twin at his side, they'd been even more inseparable since the death of their parents, but one hard look from his brother and Fred hurried up the stairs after his younger siblings without another word. Charlie got up to check behind the door, being sure to make sure that Fred wasn't listening behind or that there weren't any extendible ears about. He turned back to Bill with a nod and the elder brother began.

"I got a letter today, George." Bill began, Charlie stood beside him with his arms folded over his chest. "It was from McGonagall. She says that you're not hitting your targets for pretty much anything." He sighed and moved to sit beside his brother. Charlie remained standing. "What's happened George? What's changed? You always used to try so hard. I know you're better than this." His words were soft and he pushed the letter over to George so he could see what it said. "I get that you're upset, but so are the others and their grades are fine. I mean look at this-" he pointed to the paper "you're getting a Troll in Care of Magical Creatures. You know Charlie would love to help you with that. I don't understand it." George was staring at the floor now, a defeated look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry" he murmured "I didn't mean to fail. I don't need help, I can do the subjects. I just…I don't know. It's hard." He paused to look up at his older siblings, Charlie was still stood but he was slouching now, his arms at his sides as he listened to what George had to say. "I can't concentrate. I can be happy at home, I have Fred and the others to make my mind off of it, but when I'm in class it's hard not to think. I miss them and it's not fair that they're gone." Bill reached out and rubbed his brothers back gently. Honestly it hurt to see one of the twins like this, they were such up-beat people that to see them looking downcast was a depressing sight.

"I can't bring them back" Bill said quietly "and I can't make you stop thinking about them. It's ok to be sad sometimes, I get sad too and I know everyone else does. We all miss them George." He sighed a little and moved his hand away from Georges back "just try for me, ok? If you focus your efforts on the work and not on remembering then it might take your mind off, stop you from feeling so sad." George nodded and moved to stand but Bill stopped him with a hand on his arm. "I don't want any more letters home though George. We've talked about this now and you can talk to us as many times as you need to. But you have N.E. next year and trying hard at the moment is important." George nodded once more and this time Bill let him leave.

-XXX-

The room selected for the meeting was a small, circular room near to the Great Hall. The centre of the room was occupied by a large wooden table that currently seated all of George's professors. Bill felt judged as he entered the room, he could feel the eyes of his past teachers boring into him as he made to take his seat. He knew what they were thinking, some were sympathetic that he was here and not his own father, some were sure that he couldn't fill the role of guardian for his siblings and some were agitated that they would be talking to Bill instead of Arthur or Molly, surely he couldn't have as much impact on George as the older guardians had had. "Mr Weasley" McGonagall began "thank you for coming. As I'm sure you understand this is a rather urgent affair." Bill nodded solemnly and the Transfiguration teacher coughed and addressed the parchment that lay on the table before her. "I have Mr Weasley's current grades here and, as im sure you gathered from the letter, he is not achieving an acceptable in anything currently."

Bill sighed and placed his hands, palm up, onto the table before him. "I spoke to George about it last night. He says he's having a hard time because when he's at school there isn't anything to distract him from what has happened."

From beside McGonagall, Snape glared. "Yes that might be, Mr Weasley, but I cannot give preferential treatment to someone and allow them to fail simply because they are distracted." He tapped his fingers against the desk and regarded Bill with a high level of disdain. Bill didn't care what Harry said, he was rather inclined to agree with Sirius that Severus Snape was an incredibly loathsome man.

"I assure you, professor, that that is not my intention. I told George that he needs to try focussing his energy into his work so as to distract himself from the memories." The younger man leant back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest as he fixed Snape with a rather fitting smug look. McGonagall cleared her throat so as to gain the attention of those in the room. She gestured around to the other professors and asked if they had anything further to add, the only taker was Professor Lupin. He smiled at George.

"Of course we understand that George is going through a rather difficult time." He said gently "he tries hard in Defence against the Dark Arts but the distraction does seem to lessen his spells and make him more vulnerable to attack. Obviously the last thing we want is for George to become wounded, is there anything that you suggest to help him stay focussed?" Bill smiled back at the man, feeling relieved to have a friend in the room.

"My advice is just to anticipate why he's upset, if he looks down or he's not concentrating, maybe try to make him busy or attempt to enthuse him. I don't think that being harsh will get you anywhere if I'm honest." Remus smiled and nodded his head in acceptance. Bill looked around the small gathering of teachers to notice that, whilst most agreed, Snape was glaring daggers at Lupin. The eldest Weasley was fairly certain that George would be getting no encouragement from the slimy professor, but it hardly mattered, he could always revisit McGonagall if there was a problem. After all, Snape's identity was out now, he had no reason to hide beneath a bitter façade any longer. Content with what had been achieved at the meeting, Bill thanked the professors and hurried from the castle. He only apperated once he was off of the school grounds, he stood for a moment first in the chilly evening air and thought for a moment about how far he'd come. He wasn't useless, he could be a good parent to his family, could help them get through this. He just needed to keep trying!

**A/N: Ok, so I realise that it has been a very very long time. I have various illnesses and I have been too sick to do much of anything for a long time. Starting to feel better now so updates should be more regular. Again, I apologise and I thank anyone who is still waiting for this update.**


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